Urgent total removal of a lower clival meningioma.

A 50-year-old woman was first examined in the emergency room because of inadequate ventilation, rapidly developing respiratory paralysis, and papilledema. Multiple cranial nerve palsies and tetraparesis were present. Carotid angiogram demonstrated bilateral ventricular dilatation. Facilities for computerized tomography and vertebral angiography were not available. Ventriculograms revealed a filling defect of the fourth ventricle without displacement of the midline structures. Immediate exploration of the posterior fossa through a suboccipital craniectomy permitted microsurgical excision of a meningioma of the lower clivus. Spontaneous respirations returned postoperatively and a complete return of neurological functions ensued. The pertinent literature is reviewed.